On May 17, voters in Jacksonville, Florida will face a runoff city council election. The Democratic candidate, Kimberly Daniels, has repeatedly made denigrating statements regarding religious and sexual minorities and has for years allied herself with the extreme fringe of the religious right.

Leslie Watson Malachi, Director of People For the American Way’s African American Ministers in Action (AAMIA) issued the following statement:

“At African American Ministers in Action, our hope is that Americans will always have the opportunity to elect public officials who stand for respect and liberty, fairness and equality, and treat all people with the dignity that they deserve. We are disheartened by the advancement of a candidate who has instead chosen to be a voice of fear and intolerance. The people of Jacksonville deserve better.”African American Ministers in Action, a program of People For the American Way, is an alliance of over 700 progressive African American clergy supporting social justice, civil rights, and reproductive health and justice.